Source registry
Every public source behind a number in Alt Data: who publishes it, what it measures, how often, what it cannot tell you, and when ARCANE last read it.
Sources
11
All public, none paid
Read on time
11 of 11
On this render
Not read
4
Each for a stated reason
What Alt Data reads
Status is this page’s own read of each source| Source | Measures | Cannot tell you | Latest read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalshi public market dataKalshi (CFTC-regulated exchange) · Public API, no keyPrediction markets | Prices of contracts on US data releases and the Fed decision: CPI, payrolls, unemployment, GDP, recession.Continuous; read every 15 minutes | A price is what the last traders paid, not a forecast; thin books move on small money. | LiveRead Oct 7, 10:13 PM EDT · priced Oct 7, 10:13 PM EDT |
| Polymarket marketsPolymarket · Public gamma API, no keyPrediction markets | Prices on geopolitics, energy, trade and central banks, with liquidity and 24-hour volume.Continuous; read every 15 minutes | Resolution rules can differ from the question as a reader would ask it; liquidity varies widely. | LiveRead Oct 7, 10:13 PM EDT · priced Oct 7, 10:13 PM EDT |
| PortWatch chokepoint transitsIMF and University of Oxford · Public, no keyShipping | Daily ship transits through 28 maritime chokepoints, from AIS positions.Weekly, about a week behind | Counts ships, not cargo value; a quiet week can be weather or a holiday. | LiveRead Oct 7, 8:27 PM EDT · data to Oct 4, 2026 |
| PortWatch port activityIMF and University of Oxford · Public, no keyShipping | Daily port calls and estimated import and export tonnes for 2,000+ ports.Weekly, about a week behind | Volumes are modelled from ship draughts, not customs records; the latest week is revised. | LiveRead Oct 7, 8:28 PM EDT · data to Oct 2, 2026 |
| USAspending contract awardsUS Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service · Public API, no keyProcurement | New federal contracts by amount, agency, recipient and industry code.Daily; read hourly | Defence awards reach it about 90 days late; an award is a ceiling or obligation, not revenue booked. | LiveRead Oct 7, 10:13 PM EDT · newest award Oct 1, 2026 |
| SEC company tickersUS Securities and Exchange Commission · Public, named User-AgentProcurement | Every US-listed company’s ticker and registered name, used to flag listed contract winners.Daily | Matching is by name: a subsidiary with a different name is missed, and the flag is a lead to check. | LiveRead daily, with the awards |
| ENSO diagnostic discussion and Niño indicesNOAA Climate Prediction Center · Public domainSatellite & environment | The official El Niño / La Niña status, weekly Niño 3.4 sea temperatures, the Oceanic Niño Index.Discussion monthly; indices weekly | A strong event raises the odds of its usual effects on crops, power and freight; it does not guarantee them. | LiveRead Oct 7, 8:28 PM EDT · data to Sep 30, 2026 |
| Active tropical cyclonesNOAA National Hurricane Center · Public domainSatellite & environment | Every active Atlantic and eastern and central Pacific storm: wind, pressure, position, advisory.Every advisory (6 hours, more often near land); read every 30 minutes | West Pacific and Indian Ocean storms are tracked by other agencies and appear only in NASA’s event list. | LiveRead Oct 7, 10:48 PM EDT · advisory of Oct 7, 11:00 PM EDT |
| Significant earthquakesUS Geological Survey · Public domainSatellite & environment | Magnitude 4.5+ earthquakes worldwide over the past week, with PAGER impact alerts.Minutes; read every 30 minutes | Magnitude is not damage: the PAGER alert level is the better guide to economic impact. | LiveRead Oct 7, 10:48 PM EDT · feed of Oct 7, 10:47 PM EDT |
| Earth Observatory Natural Event TrackerNASA · Public, no keySatellite & environment | Open natural events seen from orbit: wildfires, storms, volcanoes, floods, sea ice.Daily; read hourly | A catalogue of events, not of their size or of what they cost. | LiveRead Oct 7, 10:48 PM EDT · newest observation Oct 7, 2:00 PM EDT |
| Indeed Job Postings IndexIndeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0Hiring | Seasonally adjusted job postings against February 1, 2020, by country and by occupation.Daily data, published weekly | Postings are not hires or jobs, and cover only what employers post on Indeed. | LiveRead Oct 7, 8:28 PM EDT · data to Oct 2, 2026 |
Not read, and why
| Patent grants and applicationsUSPTO PatentsView | Needs an API key ARCANE has not set up yet; until then the Hiring page carries postings only. |
| Satellite fire detectionsNASA FIRMS | Needs a map key ARCANE has not set up yet; NASA’s event list covers large fires meanwhile. |
| Import bills of ladingUS Customs manifests, via commercial resellers | Sold, not published; not bought. |
| App and web trafficCommercial panels | Sold, not published, and a panel is a sample whose make-up the buyer cannot check. |
The rules every source keeps
Every figure carries its source and the date its data runs to. Each source is read on the server and cached for about as long as it takes to change; a source that stops answering is shown as unavailable, with the time it stopped, and no figure takes its place. Nothing on these pages is a sample, an estimate by ARCANE, or copy written in advance.
All of it is public and free to read, and every row links to the publisher so a reader can check the number at its source.